Sunshine and Roses
by StressBakingElf
Summary: Lorenz is still shy about his poetry even after being married to Ferdinand for two years, but he likes hiding his love poems almost as much as Ferdinand likes finding them. Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Ferdinand Von Aegir m/m romantic sensual kissing sweet slash gay poems poetry sonnet post crimson flower but no spoilers


Ink could pour from my quill like a river,

My dear, and still not truly capture you,

Years and moons at your side still I shiver,

Our love with every glance born anew.

A stroke of sunshine caresses your hair,

And my fingers are compelled to follow,

Your eyes are passion yet your skin so fair,

My heart beats like the wings of a swallow.

Your rosy lips are softer than petals,

And taste even more delicately sweet,

In your arms my heart finally settles,

Now in a loving embrace our souls meet.

Every breath together it rings true:

I am so happy that I said, 'I do.'

Ferdinand read the parchment in front of him again and again, wiping his eyes against his sleeve. Lorenz must have known he'd find it. He claimed to hide all of his poems out of embarrassment, yet nothing pleased Ferdinand more than finding them. It had become something of a game. Finding this poem tucked away beneath Lorenz's daily work made Ferdinand warm all over just imagining Lorenz being so full of affection he had to pen a poem while his surveys and accounting reports waited.

How could his husband be so sweet?

He sniffed and wiped his eyes again. Nighttime on the Gloucester estate always felt calmer than on his own home territory. Their Houses were joined together, effectively giving them two homes. However, the sweet perfume of roses that drifted on the breeze from the flower gardens was so irresistibly Lorenz he couldn't help preferring they spend their time in old Alliance territory. The door creaked open and Ferdinand turned to face his husband with a watery smile. "How could you keep such a beautiful poem from me, beloved?"

Lorenz's ears turned pink. His eyes wandered from his poem in Ferdinand's hands to Ferdinands tears. He stepped close and stroked Ferdinand's cheek with his palm, resting their foreheads together. "I never wished to make you cry. It's only a draft, I-"

Ferdinand draped his arms around Lorenz's neck, still smiling as he silenced him with a kiss. Even chaste kisses felt passionate. Every soft brush of lips together and testing suck or light graze of teeth had them pulling tighter together like vines winding and crisscrossing again and again. Lorenz tried to gently part first but instead huffed with laughter as Ferdinand pulled him back. He held Ferdinand around his waist, palms flush against his lower back. They breathed in unison, windswept sighs like new lovers might, so overwhelmed that the briefest touch sparked brighter than flint and steel.

In two years since their post war wedding, it felt as though their honeymoon had never ended. Ferdinand figured having a hopeless romantic of a husband helped.

Ferdinand finally broke the kiss, preferring to give Lorenz a peck on the cheek. He grinned at him. "I insist you leave that poem exactly as it is. It is already so perfect I want Manuela to sing it from our rooftop."

"The-" Lorenz was confident and a cunning politician, yet Ferdinand could get him to stammer. It was incredibly satisfying. "The couplet is rather weak and simplistic," he murmured, eyes tracing down Ferdinand's cheekbones, jawline, neck, and collarbone that disappeared under his tunic. "How can I end an ode to one such as you with so little praise?"

"Nonsense. It is honest." Ferdinand lovingly moved one of his hands to rest against Lorenz's cheek, entranced as his fingertips ran along Lorenz's sharp jaw. "Any other phrasing would hide your true feelings." Their eyes met as Ferdinand touched their noses together. "I too, am happy I said 'I do'."

Lorenz never seemed to drop his formal way of speech, yet neither did Ferdinand. "Shall we retire for the evening?" His violet eyes were soft with affection as he pet Ferdinand's wavy locks of hair. It was obvious he seemed intent on lavishing Ferdinand with adoration any way he could.

"I would be delighted."

They held hands as they walked toward their bed. In all Lorenz's years of courting and dinner invitations, he'd finally had to admit that the one perfect spouse he wanted was Ferdinand. For his part, Ferdinand only truly noticed Lorenz, well, once he had an acceptable haircut. He grinned, still remembering the laughter at the wedding when he'd affectionately thanked Lorenz for growing his hair out.

Their lives meshed together with harmony. After busy days and politics faded away, they were a couple so in tune with each other they might as well have been one.

"I do not possess words to compare with your sonnets, so let me show you rather than tell you, my love." Ferdinand squeezed Lorenz's hand and turned to face him. He pressed his palms to Lorenz's chest and smiled as Lorenz sat on the edge of the bed, hands sliding down to Ferdinand's hips.

Lorenz stared up at him with devotion, as though he himself wasn't the prettiest rose in the room. "I'm yours, dear."

Ferdinand kissed Lorenz again, lips languid and slow. His nimble fingers wasted no time in unfastening Lorenz's formalwear, freeing him from a violet riding jacket and gold waistcoat with his eyes closed. He fumbled more with the buttons on Lorenz's shirt, determined to keep their lips locked. Every time he revealed a glimpse of bare skin Lorenz mewed. He brushed against Lorenz's collar and all the way down his abdomen, opening his eyes once he finally slipped all of Lorenz's layers off. Lorenz wasn't passive either, hands fumbling in front of him for Ferdinand's belt. He hooked his fingers in the blue band and urged Ferdinand to stand between his knees, undoing the belt buckle and letting it fall to the floor.

"You're so eager, hm? I thought you said my eyes were passionate-" the sudden urge to get poetic possessed Ferdinand and he helped Lorenz undo his own tunic and shirt. "-but perhaps you know how beautiful you are in the moonlight, and can't help yourself. I'm enchanted by you."

Even in the dimly moonlit bedroom, Lorenz's face was clearly flushed. "You're only enchanted because you've never gotten to have my view."

Ferdinand's layers of clothing fell to the floor and he laughed lightly. He straddled Lorenz's hips with his knees and guided Lorenz down. Lorenz followed his lead and laid his head back on the mattress, purple hair fanned off to one side as he gazed up at Ferdinand. Their lips met again and Ferdinand cradled the base of Lorenz'z skull. His hand buried itself in soft lavender hair, their intimate position letting him appreciate how Lorenz shifted under him with desire. Lorenz's warm, soft hands stroked his sides and mapped out the curve of his spine. Ferdinand's mouth opened with pleasure, the heat generated by Lorenz's caresses too much for him to keep quiet as he groaned and deepened their kiss.

"Ah-" Lorenz gasped, never quite prepared for Ferdinand's intensity in bed. Ferdinand had learned to take it as encouragement. Their tongues slid together and he wound his fingers in Lorenz's hair, giving it a quick tug. Lorenz bucked his hips in response, throwing his head back as his breath hitched. "Oh!"

"Don't understand this the wrong way, love, but I shall never tire of taking advantage of your sensitivity." His own face must be glowing but Ferdinand didn't care, amber eyes fixed on Lorenz's handsome features currently blissful underneath him.

Ferdinand tugged on Lorenz's hair close to the scalp again and Lorenz dug his nails into Ferdinand's skin with a harsh whoosh of breath. "Good- please, please take all of me."

With such sweet pleas falling from his lover's lips, how could he refuse? His greedy hands roved Lorenz's skin, attempting to feel every inch of him. Lorenz's pale neck was bared against their sheets and Ferdinand kissed him as though he'd never get the chance again, nipping and marking Lorenz as his. Lorenz, ever to the point, was already trying to tug the rest of Ferdinand's garments off, clumsy and too wound up to be effective. Ferdinand had mercy on him and kicked them off himself, settling back down on top of Lorenz. "You okay?"

"Hmmm, never better."

Lorenz's clothes joined Ferdinand's on the floor in a mess unbecoming to such finery. They shifted up on the bed so Ferdinand could rest Lorenz properly against the pillows, joining with him again with lazy, deep kisses and caresses without boundaries.

Ferdinand was a romantic at heart, so elated to have a spouse that mirrored him in that way. Even without rose petals or candles, they were so heavenly tangled together the world beyond fell away. Pants, sighs, moans, and creaks of their bed blended against the peaceful nightly sounds outside. Their hands were clasped, fingers intertwined and occasionally squeezing in time to their rhythm. When they weren't kissing Lorenz was biting his own lip, trying to hold in sound until another soft cry escaped him. Ferdinand focused all he could on making love, needing to see Lorenz's hair even more tousled and his skin flushed, out of his mind with pleasure while Ferdinand looked just as disheveled and hot.

It always happened this way, until every other gasp was 'I love you', Iloveyou, _IloveyouIloveyou I-_

Their hearts hammered in tandem. Lorenz's toes curled and his thighs tensed, gripping Ferdinand's hands tightly as their movement ceased. Ferdinand shuddered and heavily panted for breath, head resting beside Lorenz's against the pillow. Serene silence filled the room.

They snuggled together under blankets and a nest of pillows, warm and protected in each other's arms. Tired kisses pressed against hair, foreheads, noses, and cheeks were all either could manage. Ferdinand was surprised to see Lorenz's eyes were moist with unshed tears.

"Are you alright, love?"

"Yes- more than alright." Lorenz played with Ferdinand's hair and tucked it behind his ear. No one else got to see either of them so unpresentable. It was a gift of intimacy. "Wonderful. Getting to share my life with you, learning how to be a better man because of you- I cannot imagine being happier."

"I feel exactly the same." Ferdinand hugged Lorenz and idly scratched his back, still glowing. "You're my rose, and I love you so much. I could stay like this forever."

Lorenz breathed deeply, savoring their contact and warmth, the idyllic summer night where everything was right, where nothing could interrupt how they cherished each other. "Let's pretend, for the night, that we can."


End file.
